New Approach Spurs Louisville Back Into Sweet 16, Facing Dayton

Last year, the Cardinals reached the Elite Eight with an offense that revolved around Schimmel.

Louisville won 52 games over two seasons and was a player on the national stage with Schimmel as the face of the team. When Schimmel moved on to the WNBA and two other starters graduated from last season, there was seemingly an identity crisis for the 2014-15 Cardinals.

So how did coach Jeff Walz fill the void? With two freshmen and a new approach.

Louisville, which faces Dayton in a Sweet 16 game Saturday at the Times Union Center, has transitioned to a post-Shoni world with freshmen forwards Mariya Moore and Myisha Hines-Allen leading an offense that is all about distributing the ball.

The Cardinals (27-6) have deployed a strong frontcourt with the 6-foot Moore (13.5 points) and the 6-2 Hines-Allen (11.8), along with 6-2 senior Sara Hammond (10.5 points, 6.4 rebounds). Senior center Sheronne Vails (6-4) adds size and experience up front, and Schimmel's sister Jude (7.1 points) is the point guard and distributor.

"We came into this season, we knew we had lost some significant players, some big-time scorers," Walz said. "We returned eight points from that Elite game a year ago against Maryland. So we knew we had some holes to fill. Just a matter of who was going to step up and do what.

"You come into a season, you don't really expect two freshmen to be your leading scorers. Now, we knew we had some talented kids that were coming in. But I wasn't quite sure what they'd be able to do on a day-in, day-out basis. It is a big jump."

The freshmen have provided offense, but much of the team's success has come from a new approach. Walz, in his eighth season, showed his team video of the San Antonio Spurs during the preseason, emphasizing passing and ball movement.

The lesson was learned. The Cardinals have averaged 17.5 assists, ninth in the country.

The assists are emblematic of the overall atmosphere around the team. Despite losing Shoni Schimmel, Antonita Slaughter, Asia Taylor and Tia Gibbs from last year's team, Louisville did return five seniors. That group helped ease the transition this year.

"Our seniors have really helped them along and embraced them," Walz said. "I think the reason we're here is because our seniors have been so willing to help them grow during this freshman season. "

Said Hines-Allen: "[The seniors] wanted us to be part of the team. They treated us like we're family here."

Louisville completed its first season in the Atlantic Coast Conference, its third league in three years. The Cardinals were in the Big East two years ago and competed in the American Athletic Conference as a lame-duck member last year.

This year, Louisville won its first eight before losing to state rival Kentucky. After winning their next nine in a row, the Cardinals lost a conference game to then No. 17 Florida State, and there would be conference losses to No. 15 Duke and No. 4 Notre Dame.

The regular season ended with an upset loss to unranked Virginia, and the Cardinals lost to seventh-ranked Florida State in the ACC Tournament semifinals. Still, Louisville was ranked eighth in the country as the postseason began, and it has advanced with wins over BYU (86-53) and former Big East/American foe South Florida (60-52).

Jude Schimmel had 13 points, six rebounds and five assists in the win over USF, converting the basket that gave Louisville the lead and scoring eight points in the final three minutes. Schimmel, a far different player than her dynamic sister, has emerged as a leader on and off the court.

"We kind of invited the freshmen in and tried to help them to play like themselves," Schimmel said. "The biggest thing is the chemistry off the floor that our team has, and that's something the freshmen have adjusted to."

Next up is Dayton, led by veteran coach Jim Jabir. In his 12th season with Dayton and 28th overall, Jabir coached Providence and Marquette before taking over the Flyers.

This is Dayton's sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, and the Flyers are the No. 7 seed, advancing with an upset win over No. 2 Kentucky. Ally Malott had 28 points and Amber Deane 23 for Dayton, which has three 1,000-point scorers (Malott, Deane, and Andrea Hoover).

Since the start of the 2009-10 season, Dayton is 110-10 when it scored 70 points or more. The Flyers have converted at least one three-pointer in 447 consecutive games, and they are among the leaders in the country with a 38.3 three-point percentage as a team.

"It's one game at a time at this point in time," Walz said. "Everybody's asking me, are you looking past Dayton. I think of all schools, I think we'd be the last one to look past anybody. We've had some success in this tournament that people never thought that we'd have, with some wins. We take it pretty serious. We understand how talented Dayton is. … If we don't advance, I can promise you it's not because we looked past anybody."